Consider how the wild flowers grow
~Luke 12:27
The church office will be closed Monday September 2 for Labor Day.
Pastor’s Thoughts:
Yesterday, a number of folks from Grace walked with over 200 hundred other people of faith from 28 communities of faith in the Toledo Pride Parade. This effort was called “Better Together.”
The effort intended to show our community that everyone is created in the image of God and should be welcome to worship without fear and without judgment.
As we walked, I overheard someone say, “Those are churches!” Another person said, “There are clergy walking!” It was good to hear that people appreciated this witness.
Fortunately, that was the overall feeling of the day. There was one person who stood yelling hateful things at those who walked and those who watched. That was painful. Hate is never the answer, nor is it a Christ-like response to differences of opinion or to different interpretations of important topics.
We can and will disagree about social, cultural, and religious ideas. But our faith in Jesus — who reached out to all kinds of people—compels us to try and meet people where they are, recognizing first and foremost that everyone is beloved by God and in need of the grace of Jesus. Starting there gives us some common ground and can help us having productive conversations where all can feel heard and valued.
That indeed makes is “Better Together.”
In Christ,
Pastor Brenda
Don’t forget!!! T-Shirt Sunday, September 1
Wear your favorite T-shirt to church
Meditation
by Vicar Dave
Do you remember the rose garden song by Lynn Anderson? The lyrics to this song go “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine, there’s gotta be a little rain sometimes”. She’s singing about her relationship with someone, about how expectations of things being perfect just aren’t reasonable.
Our lives are like that as well. God never promised that things would always be easy, In fact, Jesus tells us that things will be difficult. After all, loving your neighbor sounds nice, but isn’t easy, especially if we disagree with them. In this political season, that can be particularly fraught. But that’s what God tells us to do.
We’ve all experienced “growing pains”. Growing up is difficult. There are lots of things to learn. Sometimes, we can learn by instruction. Sometimes we must do it the hard way. Good parents may try to shield us from the pain associated with the “hard way”, but that’s not how we grow. This process goes on throughout our lives. Even if we reach our 90’s, we are still going to be learning and growing, especially in our relationship with God.
We continue to grow as a people of God. Sometimes, we can accept what God is trying to teach us through His Word. But a lot of what Jesus taught was hard to hear. Things like telling the rich man to give away his possessions or like loving our enemies. Change and growth are hard, but that’s what God calls us to. It’s not always going to go smoothly, but God, like a loving parent will be with us through all of the hard lessons of life.
The Readings for Sunday September 1, 2024
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Psalm 15
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Please join us – Sunday Fellowship Time
In Fellowship Hall
September 1st Brenda Holderman and Cindy Wood
Rally Day – September 8th – Please join us for cake in Fellowship Hall!
Grace’s 125th Anniversary Celebration
On September 7, 2025 Grace Lutheran Church will celebrate its 125th Anniversary with a special service followed by a celebratory lunch. To lead up to this big event we will have a Temple Talk each month on the history of Grace beginning on Sunday, September 8. On that day a 124th anniversary cake will be served at Fellowship Hour. Let the celebration begin!
RALLY DAY…moving our way
…soon to be here at Grace Lutheran, Monroe Street, Toledo
on September 8 for the kick – off of Sunday School
year 2024 – 2025.
See you there!!
Fall Adult Class:
As we journey together as Christians and Americans toward the 5 November elections, let’s take this opportunity to talk about how we can best engage with each other and the community around tough issues.
The Adult Class will begin a six-week study on the ELCA’s Civic Life and Faith document on 8 September (Sunday) and 11 September (Wednesday). Each week, these two options for the class will study the same materials so that if you miss Sunday, you can join on Wednesday.
Schedule:
8/11 September: Session 1
15/18: NO CLASS—Pastor on vacation
22/25 September: Session 2
29 Sept/2 Oct: Session3
6/9 October: Session 4
13/16 October: Session 5
20/23 October: Session 6
The Sunday class meets at 8:15 a.m., and the Wednesday class meets at 6:00 p.m. Both sessions meet in Room 3.
The Civic Life and Faith document will be available on 25 August so that you can read Session 1 in advance.
Behind the scenes at Grace ….by Gretchen
- According to the grass it is officially summer – it is definitely BROWN!
- The smoke coming from the west has led to some gorgeous sunrises!
- The other official end of summer thing is the yellow buses driving past Monroe Street!
- The new sound board is up and running and undergoing some “fine tuning”!
- Don’t forget that September 8th is Rally Day and besides being the first day of Sunday School it is also the day we decorate the Flower Cross. So, if you don’t want to sneeze (when there is not enough flowers, we decorate it with golden rod!) bring in some flowers from your garden to decorate with. This is not just a kid project but also adults can decorate it!
- Have you lost something at church?? Don’t forget to check the lost and found box in the Coat Room across from the Office.
- Remember: Grace is not the building or the contents of the building but the people of Grace carrying out God’s Mission!
Healthy People! Healthy Parish!
Fall and Winter Bugs!!
We are talking stink bugs looking for a hiding place, wasps looking for a place to hang out, crickets, moths, and other creepy crawlies looking for a winter motel! (Probably not praying mantis but these guys are making you read!)
No not really! We are talking about the other kind of bugs – Covid, Flu, Pneumonia, RSV!
Covid is rearing its ugly head again. Lucas County has reported an increase in the number of reported Covid Cases. It is important to stay on top of your booster shots. Being up to date can help to prevent Covid as well as if you do get may lessen the effects of it.
Flu is also just around the corner. The flu virus changes from year to year so it is important to get your flu vaccine every year. It takes at least 2 weeks after the vaccine to be effective so the National Institutes of Health recommend that you should have your vaccine by the end of October. Everyone 6 months and older should get an annual flu shot. The flu season typically peaks in December or January. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that people age 65 or older receive a “high dose vaccine or adjuvanted flu vaccine”. These vaccines have an ingredient that helps create a stronger immune response.
RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus) is a common virus that causes mild, cold-like symptoms but in an older adult can develop severe symptoms and especially those with chronic disease (diabetes, heart, lung problems) or a weakened immune system. The CDC recommends that adults 60 and older should talk with their health care provider about whether they should receive the vaccine. RSV infections are most common in the fall and winter, so most people get the RSV vaccine before the season starts.
Pneumococcal disease is another serious infection that spread through the air and causes pneumonia. Older adults are also at high risk for getting pneumonia especially if you have other medical problems. The CDC recommends that adults over the age of 65 get the pneumonia vaccine.
Make sure that you are up to date and put that on the list of things to talk with your medical provider about!
Keep a vaccine record. Many pharmacies have a card that they will write down the date and what vaccine you received – if not keep one of your own and keep it handy!
Many of the vaccines are covered by Medicare and private insurances.
Keep the bugs away this fall and winter – get your shots!
Phobia of the week:
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
Yikes if you can say this you are way ahead! It is not a fear of hippos or squirrels
or anything else that you can see in the word.
We can say it has almost all of the letters in the alphabet though!
BAN THE BUGS!
- Sing Happy Birthday 2 times_______________________________________?
- Stay away from _____________________________________when coughing.
- Wash your hands when ___________________________________________?
- Use the ________ sign when sharing the peace on Sunday.
- Cough into _____________________________instead of your hands.
Answers:
- When washing your hands.
- People
- Before touching any food or eating, after using the bathroom, after handling animals or cleaning up after them.
- Peace
- Upper sleeve or elbow.
“Handwashing is the single most important means of preventing the spread of infections” CDC (Center for Disease Control).
Answer to phobia
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
fear of long words!
This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
~Psalm 118:24
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